Method and apparatus for reseating valves



May 1, 1928 .R. c. WILLIS ammo AND APPARATUS FOR RESEA'I'ING VALVES Original Filed Dec. 31, 1925 2 Sheets Sheet 1 1N VEN TOR. B0 M44 /6- w l w a m n /I24 A TTORNE Y.

May 1, 1928. 1,667,918

R. c. WILLIS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RESEATING VALVES Original Filed Dec. 31, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS f 6? MAL/S,

Patented May 1, 1928.

UNITED ,STATE S "5" .QFFICELQ mfc. wmrs, or" 'SEATTLlt, wasnmeron, ASSIGNOB. r virus-irons ncrmp any 00., nm, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A conroaarron or wesnme'ron.

continuation of application Serial K6. 78,864, filed December 31, 1925, and in Great Britain February 1,'

IETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BEBEATING 1827. This application filed March 22, 1927- Serial No. 177,374.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for reseating valves for internal combustion engines and the like, wherein through the use of the apparatus according to the method of use the valve seat is formed accurately at right angles to the particular guide cooperating with that seat and in con centric relation to the bore, with a precision heretofore unobtainable through the use of previously known apparatus or methods.

In the usual automobile engines the valves are guided in their cooperation with their seats through the medium of guides in which the valve stem slides, and for effective and proper seating of the valve the valve seat should be at right angles to the bore of the guide and concentric therewith. The valve guides, however, after some use of the engine are distorted, with the result that the valve seat, originally at right angles to the new and preferably straight valve guide, is no longer at right angles to the distorted valve guide, and hence accurate and proper seating of the valve is impossible. If in a reseatin operation the sole consideration was hol ing the tool by means of a pilot in the guide, as has been heretofore proposed, a proper. reseating could be readily accomplished. However, remembering that metal is being out, there are other vital considerations to be taken into account for a proper reseat'ing. Thus, for example, the material being cut away in the reseating operation is naturally of different degrees of hardness, "and where, as is usually the case, the power for operating the tool is applied from above, the necessary pressure tends to a deflection of the tool. Therefore, it is at once obvious that a mere pilot for the tool in the guide will not maintain the reseating tool in proper set-because the condition of different hardness of material, the deflecting tendency of the power pressure, and the comparatively small diameter of the pilot in the valve guide all tend to a possible deflection of the tool ranged between the power and the tool in 7 order to prevent pressure deflection of the tool; and that the guidin of the tool be such that it may be initial y predetermined by. the particular valve guide with which the reseating operation is being carried out.

Therefore, the improved method of reseating valves consists in utilizing the par form its pilot function, it is thereafter of no further'consequence or substantial aid in carrying out the reseating' operation.

The apparatus by which the described method is carried out includes a base in the form of an arm which may be mounted for swinging and sliding adjustment on the cylinder block in'which the reseating-operation is to be carried out, with means for locking .the arm in adjusted relation to permit the working withvany particular guide. The

arm carries an elongated bearing member or arbor support which has a universal mounting in the arm and which through such universal mounting the arbor support may be disposed at various angles to the surface of the block. The universal mounting is provided with means for looking it rigidly so as to hold the arbor support in any predeterminedangular relation to the block; A cutting arbor is arranged to cooperate with the urbor support for a sliding and rotating fit therein, and this arbor and bore of the arbor support are of materially greater diameter than is the bore of: the valve guide. The cutting arbor, pro-. vided for removable cooperation of cutters therewith, is formed below such cutter position with a pilot of such diameter and length as to cooperate with a particular valve guide.

The power for rotating the cutting arbor cooperates with said arbor above the arbor support, so that the elongated guide for the cutting'arbor, that is the arbor support, is arranged between the power and cutter. If

the parts are arranged to position the cut-' ting arbor above a particular valve guide,

and the pilot at the lower end of such arbor.

is inserted in the valve guide, the arbor support will of necessity take a position in alignment with the particular valve guide, no matter at what angle such valve guide may be with relation to the face of the block. The universal joint of the arbor support bein then locked, it follows that the cutting arbor in its subsequent operations must act in direct alignment with the particular valve guide, operating the reseating tool at right angles to such valve guide, and concentric therewith.

The a paratus has a further function, namely t at of reboring valve guides which are so distorted as to be incapable of further practical use. In motors with vertical valve guides, this reboring should be at right angles to the face of the block, requiring that the arbor support be initially positioned at right angles to the face of the block. To secure this, a centering element coo erates with the arbor support and face a of t e arm carrying such support, with such relation that when the centering element bears squarely on the face of the arm, the arbor support is at right angles to the face of the block, and if locked in this position will thereafter guide the boring tool at direct right angles to the face of the block.

Of course, in this use as well as in thereseatin operation the cutting arbor pilot should be first used to center the arbor support with the particular valve uide, though in the reboring operation the boring arbor pilot has no function in determining the set of the arbor support. In those motors in which the valve guide is initially set at an angle to the face of the block, the centering element will not be used in determining the set of the arbor support. Under these conditions, the cutting arbor pilot is first used in connection with the valve guide to determine the angular set of the arbor support, and following the locking of the arbor support in the predetermined set, the boring operation is proceeded with.

The invention will be described in connec-. tion with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation partly in section showing the use of the tool in a reseating operation.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the universal mounting for the arbor support.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the tool.

Figure 4 is a broken elevation partly in section showing the boring tool and arbor therefor.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the base block.

Figure 6 isa section on line 66 of Figure 1. 7

The improved apparatus comprises a base block 1 preferably in the form of a hollow cylinder having an internal transverse web 2'slotted at 3 to receive a securing bolt 4 whereby the base block may be bolted rigidly to the cylinder block indicated at 5. The bolt 4 may in some instances be one of the securing bolts for the head or may be an auxiliary bolt passed through a suitable o ening in the block. The upper edge 6 of t e base block 1 is, when the block is bolted in plae in parallelism with the surface of the bloclr 5, and an arm 7 is arranged for cooperation with this upper edge 6 of base block 1. The arm 7 is of elongated form provided with a central slot 8 to receive a stud i) rising from partition 2 of the base block, a clamp 10 cooperating with the stud above the arm, and the stud being threaded for cooperation with a locking iiut 11,.preferably conveniently operated by a hand wheel extension 12. Thus, the arm 7 may, within the limits of its slot 8, be moved longitudinally to any desired position on the base block and is of course capable of free rotation on such block, so that the operative or free end of the arm may, through the use of the locking nut 11, be held in any adjusted position relative to the base block.

The free end of the arm 7 is enlarged as at 13 and bifurcated beyond the enlargement as at 14 to provide for the reception and locking of the arbor supportindicated at 15. The arbor support 15 is in the form of a cylindrical guiding section 16 terminating in a true spherical or ball enlargement as at 17. The enlarged portion; 13 of the arm is formed at 18 to receive the spherical enlargement 17 of the arbor support, and as the seat 18 is adapted to be clamped through the relative movement of the parts afforded by the bifurcated ends 14 of the arms, it is apparent that the arbor support may be clamped in any desired angular relation, within the limits provided, to the upper face of the arm 7, that is to the surface of the engine block 5. It is of importance that the arbor support be; held rigidly, when clamped, against possible movement, and it is therefore desirable to have the seat cooperating with the spherical head 17 of the arbor support of a metal having a lower melting point than that of the spherical end of the arbor support. To secure this result, the seat proper in the arm is formed of a Babbitt metal preferably interlocked with the arm material through recesses 19, the Babbitt metal or other type of soft metal where used thus forming the seat proper for the s herical head 17 and permitting throug its'relative softness an absolute and substantially uniform gripping of such head.

A locking lever 20 cooperates with the bifurcated end 14 of the arm 7, threading through a nut 21 so that upon appropriate operation of the lever, the spherical head of the arbor support may be gripped to become a fixture with the arm, or freed for indie-- I pendent movementrelative to the arm, as

maybe desired.

\ curate as possible while at the same time permitting the necessary rotative .and sliding movement of the cutting arbor. The cutting arbor is provided below that portion arranged to cooperate with the arbor support with a tapered seat 23 on which the various cutting tools 24 may be rem'ov'ably fixed, and below this seat the cutting arbor is extended as a pilot 25 of uniform dimensions and of a size to,cooperate with the valve guide 26. Ordinarily these valve guides are of uniform dimensions for the greater number of internal combustion engines, the use of pilots ofv appropriate diameter, however, being contemplated in any instance, so that thepilot 25 will more or less accurately fit the valve guide 26. The upper end of the cutting arbor 22 is formed with means, as a transverse pin 27, to permit the application of a hand or power connection 28 for operating the cutting arbor.

As a part of thetool-for use under certain conditions, as for example in reboring vertical valve guides, there is provided a centering element 29 in the "form of a collar having a broad bearing -face 30'which may be ground for accurate cooperation with the upper surface-of the arm 7, the formation of the collar being such that when the face 30 is in accurate cooperation with the upper surface of the arm 7 the arbor support 15 which passes through the collar 29 will be exactly at right angles to the upper surface of the arm 7 and thereby .to the upper surface of the engine block 5.

In Figure 4 there is illustrated the preferred form of means for boring the 'valve guides. Here there is provided an arbor 31 which cooperates with the arbor support 15 and a boring tool 32 which may be removably carried by the arbor. I

In the use of the tool for reseating valves, the base block 1 is first secured in position on the engine block, the arm 7'-loosely positioned' thereon and moved so that the end thereof is in approximate alignment with the valve guide to be used, and the cutting arbor passed through the arbor support so thatthe pilot 25 of such arbor enters the particular valve guide 26. The operating handle 28 having been applied to the upper end of the cutting arbor, the latter and pilot are continuously rotated in a constant even manner to substantially center the pilot in the guide. This centering is determined by finding the point at which the pilot rotates most freely. The nut 11 is then clamped onto the arm 7 holding the latter rigidly in the determined position. The rotating movement of the arbor and of the pilot is then continued, again seeking the freest point of rotation of the pilot to thereby insure that the arbor support 15 will be aligned with the guide 26. When this comparative- 1y free rotation of the pilot is reached, th'e handle 20 is operating to clamp the ball of the arbor. support in fixed relation to the "arm, that is to say the universal joint is now fixed and the arbor support is in direct line with the guide 26, without any regard whatever to the relation of the original valve seat and such valve guide. The cutting arbor is then moved upwardly. and the" cutting tool 24 applied to its seat 23. The cutting arbor is then lowered until the tool cooperates with the metal, and the cutting arbor is rotated to make the necessary cut.

In this described operation it is to be noted that the pilot 25 serves in cooperation with the valve guide as a means for centering and aligning the arbor support 15 with such guide notwithstandingthe usual distorted position of the guide, and that following the fixing of the arbor support, through the clamping of the universal joint, said arbor support thereafter forms the sole means for determining the line of cutof the tool 24.

It is to be particularly noted that the arbor l support forms a comparatively extended guide for the cutting arbor and that the diameter of this guide is such as to insure a rigid guiding function to the cutting arbor and prevent the slightest deviation of the latter in operation. Furthermore, the power for actuating the cutting arbor is applied beyond the guide relative to the tool, that is the guide is between the tool and power. There is, therefore, no possibility of the power exerting any directing tendency on the tool other than through the guide.

As the arbor support 15 is centeredwith respect to the. guide 26, and in direct align- .illnt therewith, it follows that the tool is necessarily acting at right angles to the bore of the valve guide and substantially concentric with such' valve guide. The resultant valve seat is, therefore, at right angles to the particular valve guide and concentric therewith, which is the ultimate result sought in the use of the tool. A

Where the valve guides areso distorted as to prevent any possibility-of cutting a seat appropriate thereto, or are so out of line as to prevent the pilot 25 from entering, it is necessary to rebore such guides. The'tool is equally serviceable for this operation, in which, with motors having vertical valve guides, the centering element 29 is used to insure that the arbor support is positioned at right angles to the surface of arm 7 and 2 hence to the surface of engine block 5, whereupon the universal joint is locked. The arm 7 may becentered with respect to the pardescribed to rebore these valve guides at the proper angle,

In motors which have had an ei-rtefidedv life, it not infrequently happens that the material in which the new valve seat is to be formed has been so cut away or marred as to preclude a proper service job. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to cut away the material .concentric with the valve guide to receive a block or ring in which the new valve seat may be properly formed. In arranging for the reception of this block, the operation is the same as in the reseating operation described, except that a 90 degree cutter is used to form a square recess in which a ring of appropriate diameter, that is a few thousandths greater than the diameter of the opening is driven to provide new metal, after which the valve seat is formed in the manner previously described. The method herein described in which the valve guide is used'for a pilot function to determine the set of the main guide for the subsequent operation, may with equal facilitybe used in connectionwith the boring of cylinders, or in fact any treatment of the cylinders necessary to restore them to a true circular condition, such as reboring, regrinding, or the like. In this operation, the axis of the bore of the cylinders should be at r ght angles to the crank shaft, and if a pilot is provided which will cooperate with the crank shaft beneath the particular cylinder to insure that such pilot and therefore the cutting or borin arbor above it is arranged at direct rig t angles to the crank shaft, and centered with respect to the cylinder, it follows that the upper bearing, here described as the arbor support, will, when locked'following such centering and pilot functions. be held in a position to so guide the reboriug or regrinding tools that the resultant cylinder will be true to form and absolutely at right angles to the crank shaft.

It will. of course, be understood that while I have shown and described the use of an arbor 22 provided with a pilot 25 and formed with a seat 23 for the cutting tool, as the means by which the arbor support 15 is positioned in alignment with the particular valve guide through causing the pilot 25 to cooperate with such valve gui'de, yet the invention is identically served and clearly covers the I use of an independent member for cooperating with the pilot support and valve guide initiall for setting the arbor support and after t e latter has been locked in position, the use of a cutting arbor similar to that described for the cutting operation. That is to say, the means for ositioning the cutter su port in line with t e valve guide and the ar or on which the tool is carried for the cutting operation may be the same element as shown and described or may obviously be independent elements without in any way changing the function or purpose of the invention.

It is to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover a tool used in the construction and reconstruction of valve seats in a grinding, surfacing, resurfacing, reseating, or boring operation.

This application is filed as a continuation of my application Serial No. 78,664, filed December 31, 1925.

What I claim as new is:

1. A method of reseating valves to arran e such seats at right angles to the bore of t e cooperating valve guide, consisting in initially utilizing the valve guide as a pilot for determining the set of the reseating tool, locking the tool for subsequent operation in suchpredetermined set without further dependence on the pilot function of the valve guide, and operating the tool.

2 A method whereby valves may be reconstructed at substantially right angles to and concentric with the bore of the cooperating valve guide, consisting in utilizing the particular valve guide as a pilot for determining the direction and line of cut of the cutting tool, thereafter controlling the movement of the cutting tool in exact accordance with such predetermined set and wholly independent of the pilot function of the valve guide, and operating the tool for its cutting function.

3. A method of resurfacing valve seats to arrange such seats at right angles to the bore of the cooperating valve guide, consisting in providing a support for .a tool carrying arbor with said support mounted for universal adjustment with respect to the valve seat, providing a member guided in the support and fitted in the valve guide for the particular seat to utilize such valve guide as a means for determining the position of the support relative to its bearing, locking the support in such determined poistion, and thereafter inserting in the support an arbor carrying the cuttng tool to utilize the support as a guide for the cutting plane of the tool without regard to any guiding function of the valve guide. 7

4. A tool for refacing valve seats in internal combustion engines, comprising an adjustable support, an element rotatably and slidably fitting in said support and having an extension to fit within the valve guide of the particular seat being re-faeed, whereby the support may be adjusted to align with the valve guide, means for locking the support in such adjusted position, anda tool capable of being connected to any element adapted for a sliding and rotary movement in said support to thereby position the cutting plane of the tool solelythrough the adjusted position of the support.

5. A tool for refacing valve seats in internal combustion engines, comprising an adjustable support for slidably and rotatably guiding the tool arbor, an element slidably and ro-tatably fitting the support and formed to extend into the valve guide of the particular seat being ret'aced to utilize said guide through the element as a means for aligning the support with the guide, means whereby the support may be locked in the adjusted position determined by the element in its cooperation'with the valve guide, and a tool adapted for connection with any element rotatably and slidably guided in the locked support to control the cutting plane of the tool solely through the position of the support andv wholly independent of the valve guide.

6. A means for refacing the,valve seats of internal combustion engines, comprising a body to be adj ustably secured to the engine, a support, a mounting for the support adapted for universal movement relative to the body, a tool-carrying arbor slidably and rotatably mounted in the support, means on the tool-carrying arbor to fit within the valve guide of the particular valve seat being refaced to thereby cause thesupport to be aligned with such valve guide, and means whereby the mounting of the tool may be locked in such aligned position tothereafter form the sole guide for the tool-carrying arbor in operation.

' 7. In mechanism for use in connection with reconstructing a valve seat in relation to its valve guide, an arbor carryingsaid tool, an adjustable support for slidably and rotatably supporting said arbor, a pilot depending from the arbor to seat in the valve guide to thereby determine the operative position of the support, and means for lock- 7 ing the support in such determined position to relieve the pilot from any guiding or positioning function in connection with the operation of the tool.

8. In mechanism for operating on engine valve seats, a body member, means for connecting' said body member for adjustment relative to the fixed part of the engine to thereby permit the free end of the body member to overlie the valve seat to be operated upon a socket bearing in the free end of the body member, a tool support having a ball terminal to fit in said socket bearing, and means fm' clamping the socket bearing relative to the ball terminal to hold the support in adjusted fixed relation to the body member. s 9. In mechanism for operating on engine valve seats, a body member, means for mounting the body member in fixed relation to the engine block, the free end of the body member eing divided and formed with a spherical seat of relatively soft metal, a tool support, comprising an elongated sleeve-like member having a ball terminal to cooperate with said seat, and means for adjusting the divided ends of the body member relative to each other to compress the metal of the spherical seat upon the ball terminal of the support to fix said supportrelative to the body member.

10. In mechanism for use in connection witlrthe reconstructing of a valve seat in Y mined position to thereafter fix the cutting plane of the element independently of any guiding function of the valve guide.

11. In a tool for resurfacing engine valve seats, a resurfacing element, an arbor for such element, an arbor support in which the element is slidably and rotatably movable, a mounting forsuch support adapted for universal movement, a pilot carried by the arbor to fit within the valve guide for the particular seat being resurfaced and through the guiding influence of such valve guide position the arbor support in substantial alignment with such gulde, and means for locking the universal mounting to fix the arbor support in such aligned position to thereafter permit such support to serve as the sole guide for the cutting plane of the elementu g I 12. In a tool for resurfacing enginevalve seats, a supporting bodyadapted to be connected to the engine block, an arbor support having a universal mounting in the body, means Whereb the universal mounting may be looked to iold the arbor support in an angular relation to the body, an arbor having a slidable and rotatable bearing in the support", a cutting element removably connected to the arbor below the support, and a member carried by "the arbor below the cutting element and adapted in the use of fthe tool to seat in the valve guide cooperating with the particular valve seat being resurfaced, the cooperation of the member and valve guide determining the set of the arbor support in the universal mounting to thereafter fix the cutting plane of any operating element carried by the arbor lnde endently of said member, whereby following a. predetermined set of the arbor support and the lockin of the universal mounting, the arbor'may e freely removed from the arbor ;support or tools of various types may be applied to the arbor without chan 'ng the cutting plane or operative plane of t e arbor 1 in subsequent operations.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

REX C. WILLIS. 

